But anyway. Christmas!

I [...]]]> soo… Christmas is upon us! … was upon us. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. I sure did ^-^ Though I’m terribly busy as always… but I still wanted to make time to write a blog post. But it won’t be a very long post I’m afraid. ^^;;

But anyway. Christmas!

I had a wonderful Christmas together with my family and relatives. Lots of laughter and delicious food and candy.

Also, I made a t-shirt graphic for my cousin. ^^

she loves candy, games, manga, dogs and lots of other “geeky” things. ^-^ I’m also planning on selling a similar design at TIFF in the future. But we are currently ongoing maintenance, so we don’t handle any orders at the moment.. But we are soon going to re-launch our website and it will be even more awesome than before!

メリー *＜( ≧▽≦)／□☆□＼(≧▽≦ )＞* クリスマス！

For this last post I thought I’d share some fun work out alternatives. Along with a yummy [...]]]> So I’ve finally come to the end of my Healthy Week. I know it’s been more than a week since I started. But I’ve actually tried to keep up the healthy lifestyle. I’ve been cheating sometimes though ^^;;

For this last post I thought I’d share some fun work out alternatives. Along with a yummy “healthier” desert recipe. Read more –v

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Fun work out: Para Para dancing

It’s been a while since I actually danced para para. but I still do it from time to time when I want to work out and have fun. Back in the days when I was dancing I usually danced to old SEB (SuperEuroBeat), ParaParaParadise and Gazen DVD:s. ^^ Nowadays it feels most gals are more into tech-para or.. I don’t know. I haven’t checked it up so I have no clue. I just dance because it’s fun that’s all.

ParaParaParadise 2! I used to love ParaPara Allstars <3
The video is mirrored

I usually just watch DVD:s on my computer, but you can find lots of nice routines on Youtube, Vimeo and other video sharing sites.

Fun work out: ITG/DDR/PIU

Another fun work out is dancing DDR (DanceDanceRevolution) ITG (In the groove) or PIU (Pump it up). Although I haven’t really understood this new PIU thing… ^^;;  But anyway. Usually you do this at arcade halls for the best experience. But it cost money, and here in Stockholm we don’t have many arcade halls nearby where I live, so I don’t do it very often. But it’s still a fun alternative for working out ^_^

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My Meal Plan

Today with a dessert recipe. Chocolate cake with lower GI and without flour from Tasteline.

♥ Chocolate Cake (8-10 pieces)
100g dark chocolate (70% cacao)
125g butter
0,5 dl brewed coffee
0,5 dl honey
2 eggs
a pinch of salt
2 dl crushed walnuts

A very rich chocolate cake for you who like dark chocolate. If you don’t like strong chocolate taste and don’t care so much about GI you can add more honey.
Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Break the chocolate into small pieces. Melt the chocolate together with the butter in a hot water bath. Add the coffee, honey and half of the crushed walnuts. Whisk the eggs fluffy with a pinch of salt, and gently fold (do not whisk) the chocolate mixture into the eggs. Grease a cake pan and sprinkle with the rest of the walnut crumbs. Then pour the cake batter into the pan and bake in the lower part of the oven for about 30-35 minutes. Serve with whipped cream and nuts or berries.

♥ Chokladkaka (8-10 bitar)
100g mörk choklad (70% kakaohalt)
125g smör
0,5 dl bryggt kaffe
0,5 dl honung
2 ägg
en nypa salt
2 dl krossade valnötter

En god och riktigt stark kaka för dig som gillar mörk choklad. Om du är känslig för chokladens styrka och struntar i GI-värde kan du tillsätta lite mer honung.
Sätt ugnen på 175 grader. Bryt chokladen i små bitar. Smält den tillsammans med smöret i vattenbad. Blanda i kaffet och honungen. Vispa äggen fluffiga med saltet i någon minut. Vänd försiktigt ner (vispa inte) chokladblandningen i äggen. Smöra en form, gärna en mindre springform, och bröa med valnötskrosset. Häll smeten i formen och ställ in på ett galler i nedre delen av ugnen. Baka i 30-35 minuter. Servera med grädde och nötter, eller bär.

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Breakfast:
My oatmeal mix
drink: coffee and multivitamin
Lunch:
Bean sallad
drink: orange juice
Early snack:
Cottage cheese with cinnamon
Coffee
Dinner:
Pesto savory pie
drink: fun light…
Late snack:
Chocolate cake.~~
fun light.

My outfit for the evening:

I love this little hat I found it H&M recently~~

I [...]]]> Yesterday me and some friends has an Izakaya (居酒屋) inspired evening at Anna’s place. It was a great success. We made delicious Yakisoba, Okonomiyaki and Edamame, and drank lots of Asahi and Umeshu all night.

My outfit for the evening:

I love this little hat I found it H&M recently~~

I forgot to bring my camera so I only have pictures from my phone.

Delicious food in the making.

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), one of my favourite dishes of all time.
And Edamame in the back <3

♥ Step by step sandwich:
Crispbread of your choice (mine is flat bread)
Cream cheese with garlic and herbs flavor
2 slices of smoked turkey
1/2 banana

It’s great for [...]]]> Hello! So today I’m finally posting more from my “Healthy Week”. This time with a healthy sandwich snack recipe!

♥ Step by step sandwich:
Crispbread of your choice (mine is flat bread)
Cream cheese with garlic and herbs flavor
2 slices of smoked turkey
1/2 banana

It’s great for both breakfast, snack, or as a light lunch.

♥ Steg för steg smörgås:
Knäckebröd (jag använde flatbröd)
Cream cheese med vitlök och örter
2 skivor rökt kalkon
1/2 banan

Passar bra både som frukost, mellanmål eller en lätt lunch.

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My Meal Plan

Breakfast:
Light Yoghurt with Paulúns muesli
drink: coffee and orange juice
Lunch:
Findus Falafel with frozen vegetable mix
drink: fun light
Early snack:
Crispbread with banana, cream cheese and smoked turkey slices
Coffee.
Dinner:
Thai soup with chicken
drink: fun light…
Late snack:
Cottage cheese with raspberry flavor.
green tea.

Read more–v

My Healthy Shelf
Yes. And I actually put a post-it there as well where it says so. (￣∇￣)ﾆﾔｯ here I keep my dry groceries, cans, oils, and other [...]]]> Hello again. I’m not going to share a recipe today. But instead I thought I’d write about some of my favorite foods~~ (✿ฺ-ω-)

Read more–v

My Healthy Shelf
Yes. And I actually put a post-it there as well where it says so. (￣∇￣)ﾆﾔｯ here I keep my dry groceries, cans, oils, and other things that can be kept dry. for example flour, seeds, bulgur/quinoa, granola, tea, coffee (I really love the ICA instant coffee, I even like it better than brewed coffee), cup-of-soup (it’s such a great snack!), nutrilet bar (also great snack or meal replacement when you’re lazy). aaand you can spot the fun light in the background ^^;;

left: dry food. middle: frozen food. right: chilled food.

Dry food.
On my healthy shelf I keep a pre-mixed jar of my healthy oatmeal I wrote about on day 1. ^^

Frozen food.
Something I always like to have in my fridge is frozen fruit and berries. Right now I have some strawberries and mango ^^ I also bought some quorn and falafel from findus. I really love their falafel! but I gotta say I haven’t checked the GI/GL for it yet.. but at least it’s vegetarian ^^

Chilled food.
My favourite yoghurt (Yoggi mini) an exotic fruit mix snack from ICA (although I don’t buy those so often because they are kind of expensive ,_,) cottage cheese (with apple, pear, vanilla flavor – so delicious! perfect for a snack) And of course my beloved soy milk ♥

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My Meal Plan ♥

Breakfast:
Yoghurt with Paulúns muesli
drink: coffee and multivitamin
Lunch:
Falafel sandwich (like a meatball sandwich but no meat :’D)
drink: water and tea
Early snack:
Exotic fruit mix, more coffee
Dinner:
Vegetable curry
drink: fun light….
Late snack:
Cottage cheese, apple pear vanilla flavor. more tea!
Also, I’m cheating today because I bought some ice-cream… but GB Gräddglass has a low-fat vanilla ice-cream that is actually really good. but still.. I’m no good at dieting haha.

Speaking of pilates… I’ve been adding some new prints [...]]]> Hello! So, today I’m taking a break from all my “healthy writing”. When I get off work I’m going to do some pilates, and then I’m actually going to go to a pub. That’s not part of my diet… ^^;; so I’m cheating a bit today.

Speaking of pilates… I’ve been adding some new prints and freebies to the TIFF shop ^_^ for example this wallpaper:

Read more for meal plan and recipe —v

And I’ve been trying on my Dolly Wink lashes I bought in New York ^^

Love them!

Enough about that. Now on to the meal plan~~

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My Meal Plan

Here goes my meal plan for the day. Today with a dinner recipe! This recipe is from the Paulúns GI-månad app. Here it goes

♥ Creamy Pasta with Salmon & Broccoli (3-4 servings):
6 dl penne pasta (high fiber)
500 g fresh broccoli
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion
2.5 cups oat cream
1 dl water
1 tablespoon fish stock
1.5 teaspoons arrowroot
1.5 tbsp lemon juice
grated rind of 1 lemon
150 g salted salmon
salt and pepper

Cook the pasta. When it’s 5 minutes left of the cooking time, add the broccoli to the water. Rinse the cooked pasta and broccoli briefly under cold water and then drain the water. While the pasta is boiling, you can make the sauce. Heat up the oil in a non-stick frying pan and fry the onion in oil for a few minutes. Add the oat cream, water and fishfund. Heat up the sauce and let it simmer for few minutes. Add the arrow root, lemon juice and the grated lemon peel. Boil for a few minutes over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Add salmon and simmer for another few minutes until the salmon is ready. Season with salt andpepper. Put the pasta and broccoli on a plate and pour over the sauce. Finished!

In swedish:

♥ Krämig pasta med lax & broccoli (3-4 portioner):
6 dl pennepasta (rik på fiber)
500 g färsk broccoli
1 msk olivolja
1 rödlök
2,5 dl havregrädde
1 dl vatten
1 msk fiskfond
1,5 tsk arrowrot
1,5 msk citronsaft
rivet skal från 1 citron
150 g rimmad lax
salt och peppar

Koka pastan. När det är 5 minuter kvar av koktiden lägger du i broccolibuketterna. Skölj den kokta pastan och broccolin hastigt under kallt vatten och låt rinna av i ett durkslag. Medan pastan kokas kan du göra såsen. Värm upp oljan i en teflonstekpanna och fräs löken i oljan i några minuter. Tillsätt havregrädden, vattnet och fiskfonden. Koka upp och låt sjuda i några minuter. Tillsätt arrowroten, citronsaften och det rivna citronskalet. Koka upp och låt sjuda under omkörning i några minuter på  medelstark värme tills såsen blir tjockare. Lägg i laxen och låt sjuda i ytterligare några minuter tills laxen är färdig. Smaka av med salt och peppar. Fördela pastan och broccolin på talriken och häll över såsen. Färdigt!

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Breakfast:
Berry smoothie and crispbread
drink: coffee and multivitamin
Lunch:
Sandwich with beans, cottage cheese and salmon (gonna’ use it for the dinner later)
drink: fun light… ^^;;
Early snack:
leftovers from the berry smoothie
green tea
Dinner:
Creamy pasta with salmon and broccoli
drink: orange juice
Late snack:
Fruit and some nuts.
CHEATING TODAY: drinking alcohol at a pub. But I’ll try to stick to the “light” alternatives. such as Xider Bright (it’s actually really good!)

Today I’m going to focus on my workouts. I try to work out at least a little bit every day. For example I usually go for a run for about 2-3 kilometers at least 3 times a week. And it’s really fun to use the Hello again! So today I’m continuing my “healthy week”.

Today I’m going to focus on my workouts. I try to work out at least a little bit every day. For example I usually go for a run for about 2-3 kilometers at least 3 times a week. And it’s really fun to use the Runkeeper or IKEA Kondis apps I told you about earlier. And if you don’t like running you can always go for a walk instead. just walk a bit longer. ^^ Read more –v

But… since Sweden gets really cold in the winter I find it hard to run outside =/ So when the winter comes I usually go to a gym (if I can afford it) and use their treadmills, or my favorite: the crosstrainer! ^^ But there are also free alternatives for exercising indoors. For example the Nike Training Club app I told you about before. Or if you don’t have a smartphone you can find lots of great workouts on Youtube.

Although it’s good to improve your condition, it’s also important to exercise other parts of your muscles. My favourite way of doing this is with pilates or yoga. and the great thing is that you can do it at home in your living room! I use a Pilates DVD by Casall, but you can find many great (and free) videos on Youtube as well. For example I found this one from Winsor Pilates and it has some of the basic exercises I use to do:

And the great thing about yoga or pilates is that you don’t have to be very good at it to do it. At least not when you do the easier levels like me ^^

tip: Don’t forget to stretch after every workout! and remember to drink lots of water.

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My Meal Plan

Here goes my meal plan for the day. Today with a lunch recipe! I’ve had this picutre on my blog before, but I didn’t share the recipe. So here it goes

♥ Salad with bulgur and tofu (4 portions):
3 dl bulgur (uncooked)
3 tomatoes
250 g broccoli
150 g corn on can
150 g mixed beans
1 package of marinated tofu (about 200-300 g)
Lettuce
Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 teasp balsamic vinegar
a pinch of salt and pepper

Start cooking the bulgur. Meanwhile cut the tofu into small cubes and fry it in a little bit of oil. Mix all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix together the vinaigrette ad pour it over the salad. Then add the cooked bulgur and tofu and mix it around a bit. Done!

In swedish:

♥ Sallad med bulgur och tofu (4 portioner):
3 dl bulgur (okokt)
3 tomater
250 g broccoli
150 g majs på burk
150 g mixade bönor
1 paket marinerad tofu (ca 200-300 g)
Sallad
Vinegrette:
1 msk olivolja
2 tsk balsamvinäger
en nypa salt och peppar

Börja med att koka bulgur. Dela under tiden upp tofun i små kuber och stek den i lite olja. Blanda sedan ihop alla salladsingredienserna. Vispa ihop vinegretten och häll den över salladen. Tillsätt sedan bulgur och tofu och rör om lite. Färdigt!

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Breakfast:
Low fat yoghurt with granola (müsli)
drink: coffee and water.
Lunch:
Bulgur and tofu salad.
drink: orange juice and water.
Early snack:
Fruit. (for example a banana)
Dinner:
Bean and quorn taco mix
drink: fun light (I love my fun light)
Late snack:
Mixed nuts

If you find it hard to decide what to make for dinner, I usually just check out Tasteline (or other recipe sites) for inspiration. Tasteline have a GI-category, so just click there and pick a recipe ^^ And always remember to drink lots of water every day! I try to drink at least 2 liters per day.

This week I want [...]]]> Hi everyone! So, after being on vacation for 3 weeks and eating lots of delicious but not so healthy (see fried cheesecake..) food, I now want to to try a healthier diet. And since some of you have asked me about my diet earlier, I decided to share it with you!

This week I want to get back to the low GI-diet I did before summer. Although I’m not so “hardcore”, so I might cheat a bit. ^^;; Also, my goal with this diet is not to lose weight, but to be more healthy. And I’m not a vegetarian or anything, but this week I want to try to cut down on the meat and eat more vegetables, fish and chicken instead. Read more! –v

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Getting started – Applications
I’m kind of lazy when it comes to dieting and exercising. And I usually “cheat” a lot ^^;; I guess I don’t have much self discipline. But if you have a smartphone (like an iPhone or android) there are many great apps out there to help with dieting. Some people might only find this annoying, but I find them really useful! I have an iPhone4, and here’s a list of the apps I use. (and similar apps, since I live in Sweden and some apps are in swedish and so on)

Food and exercise trackers:
ShapeUp
I don’t know of this app is for Sweden only, but it’s a great app to keep track on what you’re eating and how much you exercise. this is probably the app I use the most. free version available!
Lose it!
Similar app, but in english! I haven’t tried this app because it’s not available in the swedish app store, but it looks similar to “ShapeUp”. free version available!

Workout:
Runkeeper
Uses the GPS in your phone to track your running. free version available!
IKEA Kondis
Haha, I love this app so much. IKEA has made an app that tells you how much you need to exercise in order to eat a pastry without feeling guilty. But the GPS tracker works okay and you can choose to have encouraging voices in the background when you run. :’D I think it’s only available in swedish though. free version!
Nike Training Club
This app is amazing. They have tons of different workouts. And you can “unlock” more workouts. I haven’t done that yet though ^^;; free version!

Food and Recipes:
Paulúns GI-månad
I think it’s only in swedish. They have so many great GI-recipes! And if you (like me) have no imagination and find it hard to decide what to eat, you can just follow their monthly recipe plan. 28 kr in app store. no free version available.
Tasteline
I think this might also only be in swedish.. Lots of recipes (not only healthy though) but they also have a great GI-cathegory. free version!
Allrecipes.com
I think this is kind of the same thing but in english! I don’t think it’s available in the swedish app store though so I haven’t tried it. free version!

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My Meal Plan

Okay, so what I thought I’d try to do is to write down my meal plan for the day and include at least one recipe. If I have the time I’ll try to include more recipes. But here goes!

♥ Oatmeal breakfast:
1 dl porridge oats (high on fibre, like oat bran)
0,5 dl spelt flakes
1 tbsp linseed
2 tea spoons psyllium seeds
blueberries
a pinch of salt
water (just enough to cover it up)
1 dl soy milk

Mix all the ingredients together except the milk and the blueberries. Then I usually do this the quick version in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes. but you can heat it up on the stove as well. Then just add soy milk and blueberries, and it’s done! Also, remember that this portion is made for my size so you may have to change it a little to fit your needs ^^

In swedish:

♥ Nyttig havregrynsgröt:
1 dl fiberhavregryn
0,5 dl dinkelflingor
1 msk linfrön
2 tsk psylliumfrön
blåbär
en nypa salt
vatten (tillräckligt för att täcka gröten)
1 dl soyamjölk

Rör ihop allt förutom mjölk och blåbär i en skål eller kastrull. Jag brukar göra den snabba varianten i micron i ca 2-3 minuter. men det går lika bra att värma den på spisen. Sedan är det bara att tillsätta soyamjölken och blåbären så är det klart! Men kom ihåg att den här portionen är anpassad efter min storlek, så du kanske behöver ändra måtten för att få den att passa just dig.

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Breakfast:
Oatmeal
drink: coffee and vitamin c effervescent tablet
Lunch:
Crispbread with avocado, egg and smoked turkey slices.
drink: green tea and water
Early snack:
cottage cheese, fruit and berries
Dinner:
Quinoa salad with chicken and feta cheese
drink: fun light (probably not so healthy, but it’s my favorite)
Late snack:
vegetables with low-fat cheese dip

And if you get more hungry between meals you can always snack up on fruit, berries and vegetables! ^-^

I’ll try to update every day of my healthy week. But since I have work and so on I might not be able to update every day. but I’ll try ^^